Issues Surrounding the Deposit Methods Used by Forex Brokers

Introduction

Forex trading is exciting, but the journey only starts when the trader actually deposits some money into the trading account in order to buy and sell currencies. Some forex brokers will provide a forex no deposit bonus, in which case, the trader can make a smooth transition from demo trading to live trading in a risk-free manner. For those who have no access to a no deposit bonus, forex brokers with low minimum deposit can bridge the gap. This article explains why certain deposit methods are offered by brokers and chosen by traders.

The Process of Making a Deposit Forex Transaction

The most popular methods of conducting a deposit forex transaction are as follows:

How does the process of depositing money into a forex trading account work with these methods? Here is a short description.

Bank wire

The forex trader visits the payment page of the forex broker. The “Bank wire” method is selected. For some brokers, bank transfer details are provided so that the trader can proceed to perform the transfer of funds either using an online bank account or by doing a physical transfer at the bank.

Credit/debit card deposits

Upon getting to the credit card payment page, the trader is prompted to enter the credit/debit card details (credit card number, name on card, expiration date, CVV/CVC) on the relevant payment form, after which the transaction is processed and is either approved and settled instantly, or is declined. Some brokers have tried to improve the security of the process by allowing the option of storing the trader’s card details so that these do not have to be entered on the payment form every time.

Digital Wallets

There are many digital wallets available for forex transactions. While some like Skrill and Neteller are more international in focus, others such as Moneta and WebMoney are a bit more country-specific. Usually, the deposit process will entail the trader being redirected to the digital wallet where the trader has to login and complete the transaction for immediate settlement of funds into the forex account. Each digital wallet has its own unique process of authentication for transactions to be concluded.

What Affects the Choice of Deposit Methods in Foreign Exchange Trading?

The issues surrounding deposit methods in forex seem quite simple, but they are actually pretty complex. For a method of moving money from the trader to the trading account lodged with the broker to work in forex, there are certain basic standards that must be met. These standards border on:

Acceptability: The payment method must be accepted by a wide range of traders and brokers to give it a global reckoning.

Security: The payment method should guarantee security of the funds, especially in the process of movement. The payment method must have several layers of security to secure the payment details and identification data of users.

Legality: The payment method must be legal. The issue of identification of all users of a payment system using a Know Your Customer (KYC) process is now a global standard. Unfortunately, we had a period when some illegal payment methods which were being used to launder money, were used by forex brokers and traders alike. Liberty Reserve is one such method which comes to mind.

What Influences the Choice of a Forex Deposit Method?

There are forex traders that are spoiled for choice when it comes to deposit methods. For others, there may be restrictions in what options they can use. Generally speaking, the choice of a forex deposit method is contingent upon certain factors which we shall mention below.

How Much is Being Deposited

Country of Origin

Security Issues

Chargebacks and refunds

Ease of transactions

Speed of transactions

Monetary controls are exerted by the laws enacted by different countries. So when it comes to how much money is to be deposited into a forex account, the laws of the countries and regulators of the forex brokers will determine how much money can be transferred to a trading account for each deposit method. For instance, there are limits to how much a deposit forex account can accept from those who want to make deposits using credit cards. Some countries have limits to how much money can be wired at a time using a bank wire. Traders who want to deposit forex with their brokers have to conform to the laws of the countries they live in. This will definitely affect how much money the traders can deposit with their brokers using a particular deposit method.

Country of origin: Some may ask: what does my country of origin have to do with how I deposit money with my forex broker? The answer is…a lot. Not every country has open access to global financial systems. Some countries are under international sanctions (North Korea), while some are known hotbeds for terrorism and drug peddling and therefore are restricted from having access to payment systems where it may be difficult to provide continuous tracking of who owns the money. So some traders may find that their deposit forex accounts are only allowed access to one or two payment systems. There are many traders who are restricted to using just bank wires, which is quite restrictive. These traders have no choice but to use what is available.

Security issues: Some payment methods tend to have better security than other payment methods. For instance, the use of bank wires ensures that money is routed through bank accounts where proper KYC documentation has been collected and the identities of those operating the accounts are known. That is why some forex brokers insist on traders in certain countries to use only bank wires as the deposit method. Then there is the issue of cybersecurity. It is a lot easier for credit card accounts and digital wallets to be compromised. A credit card can be stolen or lost. If it falls into the wrong hands, it can be cloned and very bad things can happen. Some traders will therefore choose not to use them at all. In contrast, a digital wallet or a bank account cannot be physically stolen. In very conservative societies where adoption of new technologies and new ways of doing things is slow, traders are more likely to adopt older means of payment such as the bank wire in conducting their forex account deposits.

Chargebacks and Refunds: Refunds and chargebacks are becoming a major consideration for traders who live in areas where the use of credit cards is widespread. If a trader used a credit card for depositing funds into a forex account, it will be easier to get a chargeback and refund for unauthorized transactions.

Recurring payments: Where a trader needs to make repeat deposits, such as when using forex brokers with low minimum deposits, the credit card and digital wallet systems are the payment methods to use. Wire transfers require repeated filling of relevant information in physical or online forms, which can be quite a hassle. The same reason is why credit cards and digital wallets are the payment systems best adapted for deployment of withdrawals using one-click payment functions on forex broker sites.

Ease of Transactions: Everyone is going mobile these days. Forex trading has gained a strong foothold on smartphones and tablet devices. Many traders who operate with their mobile, hand-held devices like to be able to use their devices to perform other forex-related functions, one of which is doing forex deposits. Anyone who has tried to perform forex deposits on a smartphone will immediately tell you that it can be done in a breeze with credit cards and digital wallets. For instance, Skrill has a mobile app with multi-level authentication which enhances the security of transactions. Wire transfers are a bit more complicated to perform on mobile. So those looking for ease of transactions have a clear choice to make.

Speed of Transactions: Credit card deposits as well as deposits made with digital wallets are usually settled instantly. Withdrawals also take a maximum of 6-12 hours to complete. Wire transfers take days to complete and are held up on weekends and holidays. Traders who love to do fast-paced deposits, trading and withdrawals will not fancy the delays that accompany the bank wire transfer method.

Deposit and Withdrawal Methods A trader-broker symbiosis

Traders will always have preferences for certain deposit methods, and the reasons have been discussed above. Brokers are in business to serve the interests of traders. Therefore, brokers will go all out to ensure that their platforms can offer traders the deposit methods of their choice.

The offering of a payment method involves a series of complex integrations with the payment systems to ensure that everything is smooth and works out well.

Conclusion

In conclusion, it can be deduced that the choice of the deposit method for your forex account can influence your trading style and trading outcomes. It is indeed possible to deposit forex capital into your account on a Monday, trade from Tuesday to Thursday, and get your profits in your hands by Friday, and there are deposit methods that can support this trade pattern. But for some other traders, there are restrictions in what payment systems they can use.

This brings us to the question: is there any way that deposit bonus forex brokers and the forex no deposit bonus brokers can reach out to traders that live in regions of the world that are under-served by the existing payment channels? The preferred method is to work with local e-payment companies to develop country-specific payment channels to serve these populations. This will help bring in more business for brokers and allow more people to start trading forex.

Inside this section of the website you will find all the best brokers according to the payment methods they accept. We have compiled these recommendations based on user feedback and on our own in-depth research of the various brokers.

Risk Warning - Your capital is at risk. Trade with caution, these products might not be suitable for everyone so make sure you understand the risks involved!